Rio de Janeiro
Microsoft announced that it will open its first advanced technology center in Brazil, setting up the center at a historic building in Rio's port area. The company will invest $100 million in the center over the four years.
- Brazil's House of Representatives voted in favor of the Senate's oil royalties reform bill, which would shift royalties away from producing states and distribute more to non-producing states. Rio officials say the state will lose 6 percent of its annual budget and around $2 billion next year alone. Rio Governor Sergio Cabral warned that if President Dilma Rousseff signs the bill into law, it would threaten Rio's mega-events. “It’s absolutely not viable. We are going to close our doors. We won’t do the Olympics, we won’t do the Cup,” he said.
- Prior to the World Cup and Olympics, Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes hopes to pass tax reform that would increase property taxes by 30 percent and widen the property tax base by 57 percent. Paes, who was reelected in October, had promised not to raise the tax while on the campaign trail. So given the backlash, he decided to wait until next year to introduce the reform in the state legislature.
- Rio's new secretary of transportation said over the next 4 years, the city would reduce its bus fleet by one-third--around 2,900 buses--in part to reduce Rio's growing traffic problem. Meanwhile, he said he would increase the number of rapid transit buses as commuters face long lines and overcrowding on the BRT.
- The Financial Times featured a long piece on Rio's police pacification units, exploring some of the strategy's accomplishments as well as ongoing challenges.
São Paulo
- São Paulo judges are now legally allowed to offer petty criminals the option of donating blood in lieu of jail time.
- A Datafolha survey of São Paulo voters found that 44 percent would not have voted in the mayoral election if voting wasn't mandatory.
- Reuters looks at how drug-trafficking gangs are contributing to a crime wave in São Paulo. Journalist André Forastieri writes about reports of Rio-style militias emerging in São Paulo and questions if they could be involved in rising crime.
Brazil
- A very entertaining "guide" from Granta offers advice for foreigners in Brazil, including quirky literal translations of Brazilian slang and how to maneuver Brazilian society.
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Photo: Eliseu Cavalcante. Rio de Janeiro's port area.
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